President Bola Tinubu’s recent declaration of support for state police is the clearest indication of the administration’s readiness to reengineer the country’s internal security, the Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has said.
The group’s Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, who made this known in a statement, added that it was in line with what the President had variously preached in the past.
TMSG said: “We are aware that the first attempt in recent years to create a legal framework for the establishment of state police was in 2018 when the then Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, sponsored the bill, but even though he was the Chairman of the National Assembly’s Constitution Review Committee, the move failed.
“He also made another effort in 2020, but it did not see the light of day.
“However, things now appear different with President Bola Tinubu publicly declaring support for a decentralised policing system as the two chambers of the National Assembly are working on a bill to establish State Police.”
The group also stated that it regarded the President’s position as a clear message to federal lawmakers who were expected to resume plenary in a few weeks to speed up the process of presenting a bill that would amend section 214 of the 1999 constitution which exclusively provided for a federal policing system.
It further stated, “It is also a reflection of President Tinubu’s long-standing advocacy for state police as a panacea to insecurity in the country as well as addressing local policing needs.
”We acknowledge that this is the first time a sitting President would publicly declare his backing for state police. It was after former President Goodluck Jonathan left office that he began his advocacy for a decentralised policing system, while former Muhammadu Buhari famously declared in a rare TV interview in 2022 that state police was not an option to address the country’s security challenges.
”Former President Buhari’s opposition was based on the same fears that many Nigerians had expressed about the overbearing influence of state governments and the possibility of abuse.”
The TMSG also expressed the conviction that President Tinubu would ensure that proper measures were in place to guard against absolute control by governors or misuse of state police operatives.
”There are already indications that the federal government may be working on safeguards against possible misuse of state police by putting the process under the control of a central body to ensure a unified standard.
”So it is not likely that the state police that the President envisages will be one that will be exclusively under the control of governors.
”This is why the President was emphatic that while political concerns will always surface around the issue, they must not be allowed to derail urgent security reforms,” TMSG added.
The group expressed its belief that while the state police option would meet its objectives, it would also end up as one of the noble and far-reaching legacies of the Bola Tinubu administration.
By Dianabasi Effiong
